Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! I will be joining the four-actor ensemble of Tigers, Dragons, & Other Wise Tails at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater, in the track of Thief/Rich Man/Wise Mole/Jade Emperor. Four fantastical tales from ancient Asia — China, Vietnam, Korea, & Japan — capture us in this DT favorite. This TYA production is catered to audiences ages 5 through 10 (kindergarten to fifth grade). The production runs from May 7 to May 10 with shows at 10:15am and 11:30am daily at Discovery Theater, located in the lower level of the Ripley Center, adjacent to the Smithsonian Castle. Click here to secure your tickets. The show will then continue to tour six schools in DC and southern Maryland through May 21.
Young Playwrights Festival 2019 @ Baltimore Center Stage
After serving as a playwriting teaching artist on behalf of Baltimore Center Stage throughout 2018 and 2019, I am excited to accept a role in the 2019 Young Playwrights Festival performing the winning plays onstage. The event will take place in the Head Theater at Baltimore Center Stage on Friday, April 12, 2019, at 6:30pm. This year’s honorees include:
True Beauty by Royale Taylor
Delve by Quinn Katz-Zogby & Lia Worth
Larry the Elf by Lindsey Brilliant
Cast by Emily Tian
Tourist Trap by Jake Fischvogt
Candy Make Up & Break Up by Mrs. Meyer-Seymour’s 2nd Grade Class
Reserve tickets to the event here. Learn more about the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) Residency Program by clicking on the image below.
Adam the Creator @ the Embassy of the Czech Republic
Theatre artists Pete Danelski and Megan Diehl will present a reading of Adam the Creator by Karel & Josef Čapek at the Embassy of the Czech Republic on Thursday, March 14, 2019, at 6pm. I will be reading for Miles, AE 1, Messenger, & Student. To reserve a seat for the reading, click here. To contribute to the future development of this project, click on the image below.
First written in Czech in 1928, and translated into English only once in 1931, Adam the Creator has spent a century virtually forgotten in the United States. Embracing the Čapek brothers’ signature social commentary and dark humor, the adaptation renews this often forgotten parable with a uniquely contemporary American voice.
Adam, out of frustration with the corrupt state of humanity, publicly negates all of existence and is then charged with the re-creation of the universe.
Reykjavik w/ Rorschach Theatre @ Silver Spring Black Box
I am thrilled to be playing the track of Martin/Ross/Robert/Man in Down Coat in the National New Play Network rolling world premiere of Reykjavik by Steve Yockey. Produced by Rorschach Theatre and directed by Helen Hayes award-winning Rick Hammerly, Reykjavik will play the Silver Spring Black Box from February 8 through March 3. Shows are at 8pm Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and 3pm on Sunday. Press opening is Monday, February 11, at 7pm. Industry night is Monday, February 25, at 8pm. For more information on Rorschach or to reserve tickets, click here.
Reykjavik is a series of interconnected vignettes featuring tourists mixing with the (sometimes supernatural) Icelandic locals. We eavesdrop on the private lives of lovers, hospitality workers, party goers, and even a really handsome bird or two. This play is a glimpse into a magical, dark, and sometimes violent world where everyone is still hoping to find love and joy beneath the glow of the Northern Lights.
Animal Tails & Shakespeare in the Schools w/ Educational Theatre Company
I will be joining Arlington-based Educational Theatre Company as a teaching artist this spring in a two-fold capacity. Firstly, I will be teaching a semester-long, after-school course at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School through ETC entitled Animal Tails, an oral, performative storytelling class with an animal theme for 1st graders. Secondly, I will be joining the roster of on-call actors for ETC’s seminal Shakespeare in the Schools program, bringing Shakespeare programming to northern Virginia classrooms since ETC’s founding.
Acting: Scenes on Stage @ Imagination Stage
Following the success of my fall Fundamentals of Acting class, I will return to Imagination Stage this spring to teach Acting: Scenes on Stage, a 14-week class for 4th & 5th graders on Sundays from 11:30am-1pm. It will be designed to be a continuation on concepts from the fall class, so it’s perfect for students returning and new, running from January 27 to May 5. To sign up for my class, register here.
Predominantly text-focused, this semester will be split into three units: a review and deepening of fundamental concepts of acting & entry points of character, a first round of two- or three-person scenes applying those concepts, and a second round of group scenes, before preparing for our final sharing.
CityVision Teacher @ the National Building Museum
I have been hired to lead teach the CityVision program at the National Building Museum, beginning in spring 2019 and continuing twice a semester thenceforward. Through this program, I will be teaching introductions to design, architecture, and urban planning to middle school students.
CityVision uses design as a framework to teach DC public middle school students how to investigate the built world and value their role in shaping it for the future. Up to 25 students are selected from each school and meet for a full school day once a week for 6 weeks; two sessions run one after the other each semester. Students learn the basic elements of the design process and work in studio teams to explore design challenges and collect information about the city. They work in groups to develop creative solutions to challenges they observe and produce drawings and other visual support for their designs. The program culminates in a final presentation when students present and defend their work with design professionals.
To learn more about CityVision, or how to apply for a partnership with your school, click here.
Docent @ the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
I have also been asked to join the docent team at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Whereas Kreeger training prioritized information-based tours, the Hirshhorn’s education mission is much more conversation-focused and question-based, engaging visitors in dialogue over interpretations of works in the collection. Tune in to the homepage for more information on when you can attend my next public tour! Click below to find out which exhibitions are on view.
Docent @ the Kreeger Museum
Following a six-month intensive training in art history, I will be joining the education department at the Kreeger Museum as a docent. I was accepted to the team following a successful evaluation of my tour titled, “David Lloyd Kreeger’s Vagaries of Art Collecting,” presented for a panel including the Museum Director, the Director of Education, and the Head Archivist. Tune in to the homepage for information on when you can attend my next public tour! Click below to find out which exhibitions are on view.
Pilate's Wife @ Inkubator New Works Development Lab
I will be playing Pontius Pilate in a public reading of Pilate’s Wife, a new play by Bridget Grace Sheaff, directed by TP Huth, and produced by Inkubator New Works Development Laboratory. The reading will be held in the West Room in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center at 7:30pm on Monday, November 26. To reserve tickets, email inkubatorlab@gmail.com with your name and number of tickets you would like; tickets are pay-what-you-can. For more information on Inkubator New Works Development Laboratory, click here.
Claudia attempts to assuage her guilt at there role in the story of the Crucifixion by traveling through the memories of her life with her husband. An examination of the powerful role of guilt and the true definition of control, this three-person play seeks to answer the question, “What is fault and to whom does it belong?”
